Tecmo: Team Ninja Will Continue Without Itagaki

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Tecmo: Team Ninja Will Continue Without Itagaki

Team Ninja, the Tecmo internal game development group that created the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series, will soldier on after the resignation of Tomonobu Itagaki, representatives of the company said today.

"Team Ninja... is intact and, as a matter of fact, have several new projects already underway. Team Ninja is, more than ever, committed to producing compelling and cutting edge games in order to maintain its reputation as a high quality developer and to continue to receive the support of its loyal fans," said the company in a statement emailed to Wired.com.

Of course, we don't know exactly who will stay on at Team Ninja and who will follow Itagaki to whatever he ends up doing next. So while the name will remain the same, the personnel could be quite different in short order. Time will tell. For now, the full statement is below.

On June 3, 2008, Tomonobu Itagaki, Executive Producer of Tecmo,LTD. (Tokyo, Japan) owned development studio Team NINJA, submitted his resignation. Due to the fact that he had recently filed a legal complaint against Tecmo, LTD., there was no choice but to accept his resignation. His resignation is effective July 1, 2008.

The legal complaint is in regards to a claim to an incentive bonus linked to a past project. The parties could not reach an amicable resolution to this matter and Itagaki chose to seek a legal remedy. Tecmo, LTD. will let the court decide the outcome of this case and will seek a true, fair, and quick resolution.

Most importantly, Tecmo, LTD. would like to assure its loyal fans thatTeam NINJA, known for its top selling and critically acclaimed "NinjaGaiden" and "Dead or Alive" franchises, is intact and, as a matter of fact, have several new projects already underway. Team NINJA is, more than ever, committed to producing compelling and cutting edge games in order to maintain its reputation as a high quality developer and to continue to receive the support of its loyal fans.